Portable stack lifter



Jan. 28, 1930.

E. w. SYSTROM PORTABLE STACK LIFTER Filed March 2, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ingenzfor: WW9. W210i,

I W i of 3 fltforrzeys.

Jan. 28, 1930. E. w. SYSTROM PORTABLE STACKLIFTER Filed March 2, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet QKN IIZUtEfl 01': W m? 422;

5 Jan. 28, 1930 STATES ERNEST W. SYSTROM, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO ROBERT T. ROMINE, OF MOUNT CLEMENS, MICHIGAN PORTABLE STACK LIFTER Application filed March 2,

This invention relates to a portable stack lifter or crane which is capable of being propelled through relatively low doorways or where restricted overhead room is provided. The apparatus is adapted to be moved or carried into or out of a freight car and to straddle a pack of metal of great weight and lift it bodily, as a unit, upon the car floor and deposit it on the floor of a truck or other conveyance or vice versa.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a portable stack lifter having an attachment which is adapted to be detachably connected with the load supporting and lifting members or bars forming a part of the stack lifter and which is adapted for use at steel mills or the like in connection with the loading of freight cars with sheet metal, particularly, although not necessarily, finished sheet steel. The attachment comprising my invention enables a pack or pile of metal sheets positioned flatwise upon a buggy or low truck to be'lifted as a whole from the truck and deposited, as a unit, upon the car floor. It will be seen that the improved apparatus enables the elimination of the old and well known method of manually transferring the individual sheets of the pile from the buggy or low truck to the car floor. In accordance with the present practice, two workmen are required to perform the operation of transferring the metal sheets from the buggy to the floor of the car. The individual sheet-s are handled by hand, and hence this method of stacking the sheets on the car floor requires a great amount of time. and involves a very considerable labor expense.

Another important object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is substantially universally adjustable to allow its use in connection with the handling of packs or piles of metal sheets of varying dimensions and weights.

In the patent to Robert T. Romine No. 1.650,540 dated November 22, 1927, there is illustrated a method of loading sheet metal in freight cars, the stacks being loaded and shipped with the sheets on edge and held intact by means of yoke binders. Steel mills that have adopted this methodmnd equip- 1927. Serial No. 172,118.

ment, are not only .desirous of utilizing the method and equipment for making shipments to authorized consumers, but also in'handling sheet metal, where consumers, especially smaller consumers, require the sheet metal shipped in flat stacks and braced in accordance with the old American Railway Association regulations. The present invention enables flat unbound stacks to be readily and easily handled by means of the portable stack lifter and loaded in the car, without any manual handling of the individual sheets as heretofore, so that the stacks may then be braced with the usual wood bracing in accordance with the railway regulations.

One form of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference indicate similar parts in the several views.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my portable stack lifter or crane with the apparatus of this invention connected therewith, the apparatus being shown supporting a pack or pile of the metal sheets arranged flatwise.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation on an enlarged scale, of my improved apparatus or attachment shown disassembled from the stack lifter.

Fig. 4 is an edge View of one of the pack engaging and supporting members of the apparatus of Fig. 3.

Fig.5 is a fragmentary detail perspective of one of the supporting members of Figs. 3 and 4.

Before explaining in detail the present invention, and the method or mode of operation embodied therein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the apcompanying drawings, since the invention is ca pable of other embodiments and of being practised or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims hereto appended or the requirements of the prior art.

The improved apparatus or attachment is preferably employed in connection with my improved stack lifter or crane V having eight supporting legs 10 arranged in pairs at each corner of the lifter which pairs of legs are each provided with spring supported wheels or rollers 11 which permit the stack lifter to be moved about as desired. The stack lifter is likewise provided with load supporting and lifting bars 12, one of which is provided at each side of the stack lifter within the space between the supporting legs 10, these bars extending longitudinally of the sides and being supported at their opposite ends by means of cables C and sheaves connected with the hoisting mechanism of the stack lifter.

My improved apparatus or attachment comprises a pair of units A and B each having a horizontal bar 20 which is provided at its opposite ends with hook members or at taching means in the form of substantially U-shaped metal plates 21 each having outwardly and downwardly turned upper end portions 21 providing means for detachably engaging the bars 12 of the stack lifter. Each member 21 is rigidly secured upon the bar 20 by means of rivets or the like 22. At the upper edge of the bar and adjacent each end thereof there are provided a plurality of notches 23 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. Mounted upon the bar 20, and adapted to be moved longitudinally thereof, are a pair of inverted substantially U-shaped coupling or connecting members 21, enlarged at their free ends to provide heads or eye portions 21 which are provided with apertures or holes 25 to receive a detachable pin or bolt 20, having an integral head 26 at one end, and a transverse hole or slot 26* adjacent its opposite end.

Detachably connected at one end with each pair of heads or eyes 2l, and movable relatively thereto, is a pack or pile engaging and supporting member shown as a whole at 30. Each member 30 is formed, preferably, of two fiat strips or bars of metal 31 and 32, secured together flatwise to form an integral structure, by means of rivets or the like 33, the rivets being spaced at intervals throughout the intermediate or substantially straight portion of the member 30.

The upper end of each flat strip or bar 31 and 32, which together form the member 30, is bent to provide the offset end portions shown at 31 and 32, respectively, having aligned apertures or holes 31 and 32 therein which are adapted to receive the bolt 26 and hold the member 30 in engagement with the eyes 24 of the member 24. when the holes 31" and :32" are aligned with the holes 25 provided in the co-operating eyes.

The lower ends of each of the strips or bars 31 and 32 are bent to form outwardly flared portions 31 and 32, respectively, to provide spaced parallel heel portions 31 and 32 and flat angularly bent foot or supporting portions 31 and 32 respectively, which foot portions are adapted to be engaged with the underside of a pack S of metal sheets or plates. By so spacing the supporting foot portions 31 and 32", it will be seen that each member 30 is provided with a wider pack supporting surface, which is desirable. The foot portions 31 and 32 are roughened or knurled as shown at 39 to present a nonslipping surface upon which the lowermost sheet of the pack S rests and prevent the accidental displacement of the pack of superposed sheets.

In order to maintain the heel and foot portions of the strips or bars 31 and 32 in spaced relation, a spacer sleeve or tube of metal 34 is provided, said sleeve being held fixed with respect to the bars 31 and 32 by means of a pin or bolt 35 having an integral head- 35 ateach end, the shank of the bolt being inserted in the holes or apertures 31 and 32 provided in the bars 31 and 32, respeqtively.

The member 30 is detachably connected with the enlarged heads or eye portions 24 of the inverted U-shaped members 24 by means of the bolt 26. After the bolt 26 has been inserted through the aligned apertures formed in the heads or eye members and the upper offset ends 31 and 32 of the member 30, a locking pin 36 is inserted in each hole or slot 26" formed in the pin or bolt 26 to hold the bolt in place. In order to prevent the locking pin 36 from becoming lost, its eye portion is connected with a chain 37, the opposite end of which chain is secured at 38 to the offset end of the member 30.

From the foregoing construction, referring to Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that the lifting strain is directed from the bar 20'in parallel vertical planes passing through the coupling members or links 24, and these planes lie, preferably, entirely within the supporting feet 31 and 32 upon which the stack is supported. Hence the lifting force is transmitted to the lifting hooks or mem-' bers 30 at points (indicated by bolts 26) which are offset inwardly from the vertical planes passing through the centers of the feet 31 and 32-, resulting in an eccentric action which maintains these feet beneath the pack against any tendency to slip out or become displaced while lifting and lowering the pack.

By providing the bar 20 with the series of spaced groovesor notches 23 adjacent each end, it will be seen that the inverted substan tially U-shaped coupling members or links 24 connecting the members 30 with the bar 20 may be adjusted longitudinally of the bar in order to position said members 30 closer Widths. Likewise, by providing the bar 20 with the supporting and attaching members 21 having hook-shaped ends 21 which engage the longitudinally extending load supporting andlifting bars 12 of. the stack lifter, thesupporting unit comprising the bar 20, inverted U-shaped members 24, and the pack engaging and supporting members 30, can be adjusted as a whole longitudinally of the bars 12. This adjustment permits the foot portions 31 and 32 to be properly positioned beneath packs of varying lengths.

This transverse, and longitudinal adjustment of the members of the unit, is an important feature of my invention.

Therefore, it will-be seen that by providing the apparatus with both longitudinal and lateral adjustments, sheets of metal ofany known standard size forming a pack, may be readily and quickly handled by the apparatus. Packs composed of odd size sheets, that is to say, non-standard size sheets, may

also be equally well handled with my improved apparatus.

In use, the apparatus or attachment embodying my invention comprises two units A and B (Fig. 1), each unit being an exact duplicate of the other, and including the parts or elements referred to in detail above. Each unit, as a whole, is movable along the load supporting and lifting members or bars 12, 12, positioned within the frame structure of the stack lifter at each side thereof, to adapt the apparatus for, use in the handling of packs, piles or bundles of sheet steel of varying sizes. Likewise, by providing each unit with a pair of opposed pack engagingxand supporting members 30 which are adjustable laterally within the space provided between the vertical pairs of legs 10 of the stack lifter, packs or bundles of sheet steel of varying widths, as well ,as those of different lengths and weights, can be successfully handled by the apparatus.

WVhile I have described, for the purpose of illustration, the invention as applied in connection with the loading of freight cars with sheets of metal arranged fiatwise in packs or bundles, nevertheless, the apparatus is equal- .ly adapted for use in connection with the unloading of such sheets from freight cars at the point of destination, the steps in the method when unloading the car bein simply the reverse of the method when emp oyed in loading the car.

What I claim is 1. In a portable crane having an arched frame and hoisting mechanism, a pair of spaced horizontal bars connected to sald mechanism, a transverse bar mounted upon said bars and adjustable thereon, a pair of load engaging and lifting members, said lifting members having oppositel ofiset upper end portions, and means pivota 1y connecting said-offset ends with said bar permitting said members to be bodily moved to arrl or from one another to accommodate loads of varying sizes, said offset portions providing connections whereby the lifting strain maintains said last named members in engagement with the sides and bottom of the load during the lifting and lowering operations.

2. In a portable crane having an arched frame and hoisting mechanism, a pair of spaced horizontal bars supported from said mechanism, load engaging and lifting members suspended from. said bars, said lifting members having oppositely offset upper end portions, and means for pivotally connecting said offset, portions with the bars, said offset portions providing means whereby the lifting strain on the pivotal connections will swing the lower ends ofthe members inwardly with respect to the load.

3. In a" portable crane having an arched frame and hoisting mechanism including a pair of depending cable operated sheaves at each inner side of the frame, a pair of horizontal bars supported thereby, a pair. of depending hook members having inwardly offset portions at their upper ends pivotally connected to the bars whereby the lifting strain on the pivotal connections will maintain the members in position with respect to the load.

4. In a; portable crane having an arched frame adapted to straddle a load and also having h isting mechanism, a pair of horizontal lif bars supported by said hoisting mechanism, a pair of depending hook members adapted to engage the opposite sides of a load and having inwardly ofi'set portions at their upper ends, and means adjustable relative to said bars for supporting said hook members therefrom and pivotally connected to said offset portions so that the upward lifting strain on said portions will maintain the hook members in position with respect to the load.

1 5. In a portable crane having an arched frame and hoisting mechanism including a pair of depending cable operated sheaves at each inner side of the frame, a horizontal lift bar connecting each pair of sheaves, a

the bars, and depending load engaging devices carried by said second pair of bars.

7. In a portable crane having an arched frame and hoisting mechanism including a pair of depending cable operated sheaves at each inner side of the frame, a horizontal lift bar connecting each pair of sheaves, a second pair of horizontal lift bars extending transversely to said first bars and having means for slidably connecting the bars in substantially the same horizontal plane, and depending load engaging devices slidably mounted on said second pair of bars.

8. In a portable crane having an arched frame and hoisting mechanism, a pair of spaced horizontal lift bars connected to said mechanism, a pair of transverse horizontal bars supported on said first named bars, and depending load supporting devices slidable on said transverse bars.

9. In a portable crane having an arched frame and hoisting mechanism, a pair of spaced horizontal lift bars connected to said mechanism, a pair of transverse horizontal bars su ported on said first named bars, and depending load supporting devices slidable on said transverse bars, each comprising a member terminating at its lower end in a hook portion to engage beneath a load and having an inwardly offset portion at its upper end swingingly connected with a transverse bar.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ERNEST W. SYSTROM. 

